Poke World War II
by AnimeLover1015
Summary: Poke World War II is caused by a disagreement of using 'Pokerus Injections' on Pokemon. Kei Ryuta, an ordinary Sinnoh citizen, meets a rebel who is against both sides, and she makes a life changing deal with him that puts her once peaceful life in constant jeopardy. *On hiatus, possibly indefinitely*
1. Prologue- Bombing

**Hello fanfiction readers! This is my first story here for a long time, and I decided that I'd write something based on the Pokemon War Theory… kinda but not really. It involves Pokerus. Since this story is going to involve all regions, it'll involve most characters in the games. I won't do any characters from the anime though unless they're in one of the games. **

**Here's the list of trainers so far (Review/PM me if you want anyone else added):**

**All Gym leaders, Elite Fours, and Champions, All rivals, Red, Kris, Ethan, May, Brendan, Leaf, Dawn, Lucas, Lyra, Hilbert, Hilda, N, Rose, Nate, Serena, Calem, Wes, Rui, Ben, Summer, Kate, Kellyn, Lunick, and Solana. I've already incorporated some of them into the plot I'm writing, but I've never seen anyone try to pull something off with all of them. It should also help inspire me to write something if I'm stuck, even if it's a little filler-y. This should also answer some questions, like what happened to Wes and Rui, where Hilda and Hilbert went, etc. I'll also include Team Rocket, Aqua, Magma, Galactic, Plasma, Flare, Cipher, and Snagem.**

**Yeah. That's a lot. Somehow, everyone is incorporated and relevant to the plot. Spoiler alert; Snagem, Plasma, and Galactic are going to appear the most. But they'll all get a chapter, with Magma and Aqua being in the same one. But they'll probably get two.**

**TL;DR: This story will include almost every protagonist and antagonist of every game in at least some depth. All that said, enjoy the prologue!**

It wasn't just that Rowan was worried for his Pokemon, although he was, but he was also worried for the world when he saw the destruction. That kind of thing wasn't what an ordinary Pokemon did. Heck, not even what a legendary Pokemon _could _do. Only humans could cause something like that. Only humans could cause a bomb to go off.

"Piplup! Chimchar! Turtwig!" Rowan desperately called for the Pokemon to assure their safety. Turtwig rushed to his side first, followed by Chimchar almost immediately after. But Piplu was gone. "Piplup!" Rowan called again. Chimchar and Turtwig called their respective names, presumably in Pokemon language looking for Piplup as well.

Rowan froze. Had Piplup been caught? "Rowan, sir, get in the shelter!" The scientist came running out from the lab and then he evaluated the situation after a moment. "Let's look for Piplup afterwards, sir, we need to get to safety!" He dragged the professor who hesitated to let himself be taken and was followed by the other two starters.

Once they had gotten into the supplied underground shelter, Rowan finally snapped. "Where is Piplup?! We need to find Piplup, it could be scared to death right now!"

The scientist shook his head regretfully as he opened his laptop. "I'm afraid our lives are more important at the moment. This could be a war we're dealing with; our priorities need to be organized."

Rowan sighed and shook his head, still not convinced but no longer willing to put up a fight. "Are you getting any data on this?"

"So far, it appears it was Mt. Coronet affected. The surrounding areas appear to be okay according to sources. The only city that saw the impact within itself was Eterna City; a sign and some bike stands were ruined. That's all."

"Who was it though?"

"Our only suspicions would be Kanto or Johto. Ever since we started to use Pokerus injections, they've become aggressive. But as far as we know, the boy from Orre was the only one who knew how to handle bombs."

Rowan paused. "Isn't he dead?"

The assistant shrugged. "We actually don't know. That's what reporters said, but it appears that once he crushed Cipher's plans, he and the girl disappeared along with the Pokemon he saved."

Rowan put a finger on his chin. "Interesting… and they don't know anything. In that case, we should have a search party looking for the Orre boy- whatever his name was- and we should see if Hoenn has any information on this attack since they've used the injections as well."

"Yes, sir." The scientist got to work, and Rowan was lost in thought while Chimchar and Turtwig played tag with each other in the large space. _Worst case, this could turn into a war…_

It would. And it would be the second war the Pokemon world had experienced.


	2. Training Begin!

Nightmares are scary. Especially when they're real and you won't just wake up suddenly and realize three seconds later that it's 1 AM and you can go back to sleep without dreaming again. I, Kei Ryuta, have always feared fighting of any type. Leafeon and I have a peaceful life here in Eterna City, just taking walks every now and again around the area, with no particular goal.

Well, I guess it's better to be in a scary, real nightmare than a boring life. That's always been all I had, but now it's valuable to have a life here in the warring regions. Poke World War II was never expected to happen over something so small like Pokerus, but when it came to the morality aspect, anyone could see why it would be an issue. But it's always been kinda contradictory to me, because if they're fighting for morality, why would they make a war over it?

People are stupid, I think as I stroke Leafeon. The bombs have barely impacted Eterna so far, with only the eastern most corner being destroyed by it. I've heard that there was a second one on New Moon and Full Moon islands, but I wouldn't know, it's only from the rumors I hear since I don't like to look at my laptop too much.

Suddenly, I hear a knock on my door. "Is Kei Ryuta there?" I hear a man shouting. Once I take a moment to decipher what he said, I rush down the stairs and open the door. Revealed is a boy with blue hair barely sticking out of his cap, with a blue shirt, red scarf, and black jeans.

"Yeah, this is me," I reply a bit hesitantly. Now that I take a closer look at him, I notice he's quite short, almost a foot shorter than I. "What is it?"

"Professor Rowan said he wants to see you," the boy muttered a bit quietly, studying his feet as if embarrassed. "I'm sure you know about the war going on. All of the best trainers are already fighting in the war, and they aren't enough, so Rowan is trying to draft anyone who's capable of raising Pokemon and doesn't have any other responsibilities. He sent me to get some people, and by the records we have, I figured you might be able to…" But then, he looks up swiftly and speaks louder. "But only if you're willing to! I mean, it'd be appreciated since we're becoming particularly weak, but I understand if you don't want to. But if you do-"

I laugh at him, slightly amused. "Enough, whatever your name is-"

"Lucas."

"Lucas, enough. I'll consider joining the war if Rowan can give me more details. I assume you have a way to get there?"

"Um, yeah. I have two Staraptors on me just in case you asked." Lucas sends the two birds out of their Poke Balls and let me on one, showing me how to grip its foot and getting Leafeon settled on its back. "Fly!" Then, we are off to Rowan's lab.

"And we're here in Sandgem town! Staraptor, return," he says. I study the surrounding area; two houses, a Pokemon Center, and a Poke Mart. Lucas motions for me to follow him into the professor's lab, and as we walk in, he appears to be waiting for us, as he's walking to the couch with his laptop.

"Ah, is this Kei? I've been waiting for you too long."

"Yeah, okay, sorry… uh, how do I join the military?"

"Oh, right. Here, come this way." Rowan led me to a table on the far right side of his lab that had a stack of papers that had small print with terms and conditions of some sort. "Basically, you sign once you understand the information, and you'll begin training in less than a week, so pack your valuables."

"Will I be able to-"

"Just read the information." I flinched, but read the papers anyway. Basically, I'd be committing at least a month to training, then 3 more months until I decided to stay or leave, then I'd only be able to leave after two years at any time. As a girl, I'd need to have my hair back and wear proper clothing (though my options weren't too limited). I would get three Pokemon from one category each. A running Pokemon, which make my options Luxray, Rapidash, Girafarig, Houndoom, or Manectric. Then, a swimming Pokemon, which are Gyarados, Golduck, Quagsire, Azumarill, Octillery, Milotic, Mantine, Whiscash, and Vaporeon. Lastly, an air Pokemon, which are Staraptor, Honchkrow, Pelipper, Skarmory, Altaria, Togekiss, and Tropius. However, I'm expected to return the Pokemon if I get a stronger one that can perform the same function, and I'm given Poke Balls to be able to do so.

"Okay, I think I'll join." In the support Pokemon checkboxes, I put Rapidash, Mantine, and Skarmory. I sign my name, put my address and gave the slip to Rowan, who scans it with his computer then crumples and throws it in the trash can mindlessly while sending an email.

"I'll just have you know that Skarmory is a new addition, so we're still breeding them and may not be able to train one soon enough. That said, you'll probably get an egg to raise. Of course, all of your Pokemon will be injected with Pokerus."

"Including Leafeon? Right now?" I see Leafeon shrink back a bit and tilt its ears back. I kneel to stroke it comfortingly.

"Yes, but don't worry, it shouldn't hurt much at all. It might sting for a moment, but that's it." He grabs a small syringe from a cabinet filled about halfway with a neon purple liquid. I hold Leafeon and whisper comforting words into its ear, and when Rowan injects its arm, Leafeon flinches barely, but smiles a bit afterwards, letting me know it's okay. I stand up, relieved, and turn to Rowan again.

"So is there anything else?"

"Nope, I just need this to send already. Kanto is hacking our signal, but Volkner is fixing it. Lucas, do you mind flying over to Sunyshore to see how he is? And take Kei along if you don't mind, it'll be good for her to experience more beyond her hometown and the surrounding routes."

"Sure thing, Professor! Let's go, Kei, we have work to do!" He grabs my wrist and we run out together, soon on the way to Sunyshore City


	3. Visiting Volkner

**Thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favorites everyone! Sorry I didn't update earlier, I've been busy with real life, which I don't favor. Even a little bit. Okay, well maybe a little bit, since I've waited this long. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

As soon as we enter Sunyshore, I look around, astonished. There are high bridges, escalators, and solar panels everywhere. "Wow! It's so _cool!_ Who made all of this, anyway?"

Lucas smiles at me, amused at my excitement. "Volkner, the man himself. He works all day and night on building these things. One of the most important structures is the Vista Lighthouse over there," he says. He points to a tall lighthouse at the top of the city. "You can see the Pokemon League from there, almost as beautiful of a view as the Glitter Lighthouse."

"What's that?" I ask while starting to wander towards the Vista Lighthouse.

"It's basically the same as the Vista Lighthouse, but a different style, and it has a viewing deck outside of it. But sadly, we can't go over there since Staraptor would get too tired to go to Johto… and that they're with Kanto."

"I see." But I barely compute anything he just stated. I start to jog up some stairs to the Vista. "What's up here?"

"Volkner."

"Shouldn't he be running the Gym?"

"He hasn't gotten any interesting challengers for a while. He's become depressed and is considering abandoning his duty as Gym Leader and becoming an Elite Four member."

"Oh my." As I open the door into the lighthouse, I'm greeted by an open lobby filled with people and that has a staircase in the back. As I begin to walk through, Lucas stops me. "What is it?"

"Don't go yet. In order to go, you need to defeat everyone here. I already did, but since you didn't, we need to be careful." He leads me behind a bookcase as we make our way over to the stairs. We repeat on the next floor and the next, facing hardly any difficulty for some reason. On the top floor, the walls are now windows and the top slanting upwards. Near one of the windows, I see a man with blonde hair, a blue jacket, and blue jeans staring out of the window, somehow looking drained. "Volkner!"

Volkner turns around, and his face lights up when he sees Lucas and me. "Lucas! I'm so glad you came! Are you possibly looking to battle?" He walks up to us calmly despite his apparent eagerness.

"No, actually. Maybe later, but now, there's a more important matter. Rowan needs to know how your progress is on Kanto's hacking Sinnoh's systems."

Volkner pauses with a confused expression as if Lucas is speaking a foreign language. "Hacking? I never heard of any hacking…"

Lucas gasps. "They must've deleted the email, too! Volkner, you should really start trying to stop it, however you do that!" I take a mental note not to rely on technology much during the time I'll be fighting.

"I'm really sorry Lucas, but I don't think I can do that. See, my vision is already becoming really impaired because of all I already work with. Besides, I'm not very good with computers."

"Oh… I see. I'll be sure to tell Rowan then. See you later Volkner!"

"Wait!"

"Huh?"

"Won't you battle me? I haven't even battled a weak trainer, even _that_ would be good enough right now." Volkner's expression seems to have fallen, and he looks a bit sadder than he did when we entered the lighthouse. I feel bad for him, but Lucas shakes his head.

"I can't battle now, Volkner. I would, but I can't waste time during the war, and I have Kei with me. Maybe later." Volkner still looks sad, but hesitantly nods his head and turns back around.

Out of pity, when we go down the first staircase, I poke Lucas' arm. "Hey, can I go battle him?" I feel sorry for him, and I know it's pathetic, but I want to battle him."

Lucas almost laughs. Almost, but he knows manners. "No, Kei. You'd be stupid to try to face him. He's incredibly powerful."

"Please, Lucas? He mentioned that even if it's a weakling-"

"Kei, no. Leafeon will get hurt. It's common sense to just not."

"She might not even survive the pain of war if she doesn't have experience with losing!"

Lucas sighs, understanding that he won't win. "Fine, but as soon as you finish, come back down." He trots down the staircase as I smile and head back up. When I get to the top, Volkner turns to me and tilts his head.

"Yes, Kei, wasn't it? What do you want?"

"I want to battle."

"But aren't you going with Lucas?"

"He's going to meet me outside. For now, I just want to battle you if it'll help your condition."

"Okay then, thanks. I really mean it," he says before he smiles slightly and leads me down the stairs, out of the lighthouse, and to the gym. I realize something right before we enter.

"Where'd Lucas go?"

He glances back to where the bluenette boy had said he'd wait. "I have no idea. Don't you want to battle first, though? It'd be saddening if we skipped that part…"

"Oh, yeah. Okay." I feel too sorry for him to turn him down now.

"Alright, let's go in here." Volkner opens the door to his gym to reveal several rotating platforms. He unlocks a small cabinet in the wall to reveal a button, and when he presses it, the platforms line up perfectly to go the back. "Come on."

I follow him, realizing how much time he must really have spent constructing the gym. "Did you make this, too?"

"Yup. Took quite a while, but it's one of my best masterpieces." Once we get to the back, I notice the pattern on the floor with two semi circles on each side, and a big rectangle in the middle. He directs me as to where to stand, and when we're in proper position, we initiate a battle. This is my first battle, so I just go off of the many that I see in Eterna Forest.

"Go, Jolteon!"

"Go, Leafeon!"

"The challenger goes first," Volkner states.

"Okay… Leafeon, Magical Leaf!" I shout.

Volkner smirks as Jolteon avoids Leafeon's attack. "There's no way you'll win, Kei. Jolteon, Charge Beam!" Leafeon isn't able to avoid the attack, and I have no way of knowing if it's due to my inexperience or Volkner's experience.

"Leafeon!" I pause, then run over to Leafeon to try to help it. However, the lights suddenly go out in the gym. "What's happening?" I ask as I slow down, still looking for my Pokemon. Volkner laughs a bit.

"Kei… by now, you must know that Johto and Kanto are allied." Uh oh. I do know that. And I think I know where this is going. "There's obviously no way you can win. I was astonished that you were fooled by words so easily.

"See, there's a girl named Jasmine in the northern side of the city. I'm sure you must've seen her? The light blue dress, brown hair, light brown eyes… She's a Johto gym leader. She's been here for a long time now, and can you guess why?"

Yes, I can guess, and I'm pretty sure I'm right. However, I don't say anything. Instead, I find my Leafeon and sit next to it, returning it to its Pokeball and then straining to see Volkner standing right where he was, returning Jolteon.

"She's been a spy for Johto. She requested that I work with her and the ETPA, or the Ethical Treatment of Pokemon Alliance. I couldn't refuse."

"Why?" I barely manage to say. But he knows exactly what I mean.

"You've seen Jasmine around here, haven't you? She's so gentle and sweet. I could go on for so long about her. How she worded her request, she made it sound like I'd really be important. Don't get me wrong, I don't fall for words, unlike you," he rambles as I flinch. "She told me she'd give me anything if I joined… and I took advantage of that. You understand my decision, don't you?"

I shake my head, but we both know that because of my weak personality, I sympathize with his decision immediately. "And how is your joining them relevant to a soldier not even in training yet?" I asked.

"I was just getting there. The ETPA is unlike the SPA that you're planning to fight for, she taught me. We don't pressure trainers into joining us. That's why Unova is going to join us."

"Unova? Isn't that the region that's across the ocean?"

"That's correct, sweetie. The basic alliances have been waiting for a response from them, and it's only been as big of a deal as it is because Unova has the power of a few certain trainers that go by the names of Rosa and Nate. Have you heard of them yet?"

I shake my head.

"Rosa owns Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion, while Nate owns Keldeo, Meloetta, and Genesect. While we don't know where the other three are, those six Pokemon and those two trainers would be enough to tip the scale on way or the other. Now, Kei, I think you might be a valuable trainer to fight for us; I don't know why, but I think you might be able to harness Kyurem's power. Nate or Rosa could possibly help you get it. If you don't join, we aren't mean to you. We won't attack you specifically. But you'll definitely see a lot more violence if you're with the PSA."

"But why me? And why could I get Kyurem?"

"Something about how you battle, and how you talk, and hold yourself reminds me of someone I used to know." I barely see him lower his head and frown in the darkness. "The offer is always up. If you want to join, email me, and I'll make sure it doesn't get deleted."

"Wait, so you could've actually fixed the hacking?"

"Yes. Now shush, I need to find the switch to enable the power again." I watch as Volkner scans the wall with his hands until he comes across a switch that he flips to turn the lights on. He turns and smirks at me. "I'll be waiting for you. I might even have a surprise for you if you join us."

As he walks away from the wall, the lights go out without a switch. Volkner turns his head left and right trying to find the cause.

_BOOM!_


	4. Wild, Wild Wes!

I'm hardly able to comprehend what just happened. I'm too scared to open my eyes. I only hear footsteps, probably from Volkner coming over to me or something. And for some reason, I don't open my mouth to scream or anything. I just stand in the same crouched position by a wall I'd fallen to.

The footsteps come closer to me. Barely capable of doing so, I open my eyes and turn around. Through the smoke, I only see three colors- blue, black, and some red lines. I squint to see what it is. No matter how hard I try, I'm only able to figure out one thing.

This figure is walking towards me. I'm able to make out bronze colored hair and silver goggles. Then, gold eyes. He speaks, but I notice it's almost silent. "Espeon, Umbreon, good job. Return." The Poke Balls they were in send out the red beam to retrieve each Pokemon, although I don't see the Pokemon themselves. I'm able to make out his full figure by now; blue trench coat, bronze hair, silver goggles, black pants and boots, and some sort of red attachment on his right arm. Well, to my right.

I'm barely capable of talking. "Who are you?"

He looks down at me, frowning. His face already doesn't appear to be the type to smile. "I won't tell you."

"Then can you explain why there's a bomb here?"

He looks around, and as the smoke clears, I see Volkner unconscious. He kneels down and whispers. "I set it off."

I gasp. "What about the other two? I think I'm supposed to tell Rowan about you, you're probably a threat!"

He shakes his head, glaring a bit more than fit, even for his face. "It's a problem that you witnessed this." The mystery man bites his lip. "Look, you can't tell anyone about me. Okay? Now, go home."

"I can't, I work for the ETPA. At least, I will soon. But I need to tell about this threat. I've probably been staring at you for so long that I could pick you out from a crowd, let alone suspects Rowan thinks are threats," I said. I don't really know what to make of this. You don't just go in and blow a place up, and be like, 'Whoops, there's a witness. I'll ask politely for her not to tell'. In fact, he didn't even ask politely!

"What can I offer you to keep your mouth shut?"

I think for a moment. "What do you have that I might want?"

"Nothing I can think of. I might just need to eliminate you since you're a threat.

_No!_ "Don't kill me!" I shout. "I can't die young, I-"

He laughs. "I don't mean kill you. I don't even have the power to do that. I'd probably just kidnap you while I convince you to join me, or at least not tell anyone else about this."

"Oh." Hey wait, did I just express relief at being kidnapped and brainwashed? "I mean, no, don't-"

"That's too bad. I didn't offer you a choice, did I?" He didn't, I guess. He sends out a Skarmory and a Tropius. In one swift movement, he moves behind me, grabs my hands, and ties them tightly. He carries me on his shoulder and practically throws me onto Skarmory. "Don't drop her."

He mounts Tropius and somehow, in the telepathic way Pokemon and their trainers communicate, tells them to fly, and we're off to some place I don't know.

I wake up to a conversation. I don't open my eyes in fear of what I may see. "I'm sorry, Rui, but I should probably just kill her now. I know that you-"

"No, no, NO! Don't kill her. That's not like you, Wes! Normally, you'd just have her join us or something. Why would you kill her rather than try to make her our ally?"

"Well, first, she might be a rogue trying to avenge Team Cipher or Snagem." Cipher? Snagem? I've never even heard of those names. "Also, what if she spreads information? Rowan is already trying to track us down, and your skills aren't exactly the best when it comes to hacking."

"I only hold back because it's wrong, and you know it, too. I only stick with you because you protect me, you know. I just might kill myself-"

"Rui, don't do that. Just run away and find some other knight in shining armor. But don't kill yourself, your life is worth more than that." His tone is blunt whenever he talks, while Rui's is high pitched and constantly changing, like she's crying. They've probably had a better relationship up until recently, I observe.

There's a pause. The silence is practically screaming to be filled. I've already figured out that this man's name is Wes, and that his partner is Rui, and that he has at least an Espeon, Umbreon, Tropius, and Skarmory. I hesitantly decide to open my eyes, but just barely. I'm on a bed in a small room that just has another bed, a table, and a staircase. Rui and Wes are on the other bed, sitting across from each other with feet over the edge.

The next thing I take note of is their expressions. Rui is wiping tears from her face, and Wes is glaring a bit, which appears to be his natural expression. Wes Rui finally talks after a long pause. "Wes, I hope you don't take this badly, but I think I should probably stop travelling with you. I'm useless now that you purified all of the Shadow Pokemon." What are Shadow Pokemon, and why would Rui stop following Wes because of it? "Anyway, when you leave, I think you should take this girl- Kei, right? - with you. She appears to have the potential to catch legendary Pokemon. And you know, that's probably better than being able to-"

"Rui," he interrupts. I assume he's about to comfort her, but- "you can tell if she has that potential, right? You should've told me earlier. Maybe she doesn't have to die… I could work something out. Thanks for telling me, I guess I have another girl to drag around with me." I no longer know if he's being sarcastic or not.

Rui opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it, looks down, and nods. "Yeah. I guess I'll see you later, then."

Wes looks at me, then raises his eyebrows when he sees my eyes aren't completely closed. "Kei? How long have you been awake for?"

"Just about a minute. I think I first heard… something about killing me? And now, you won't?" I think I sound a little too hopeful around someone who always speaks and looks negative. However, he doesn't react.

"Right," he mutters, furrowing his eyebrows and putting a hand to his chin.

"I guess I should leave now," Rui says, exiting to go downstairs.

Wes nods, and then continues. "I could let you live normally. But every week or so, at midnight, I'd fly to Sandgem Town, and have you tell me the military's secrets. Do you know when you do and don't work yet?"

"No, I just signed up today… or yesterday. Whenever you took me, that's the day Rowan sent the email."

"Fine." Wes looks up for a moment, then back down at me. "Will you have the information within a week?"

"I could definitely think so."

"Then at one in the morning exactly one week from now, meet me in Snowpoint City so we can work out times for you to tell me about what the SPA is planning."

"But I don't think I can-"

"You will if you value the Sinnoh region. Skarmory," he says, sending out the silver bird Pokemon, "take her back to Sandgem Town, and fly around to make sure she doesn't spill anything."

Skarmory nods, and perches on the windowsill. I climb on its back and hold on tight while trying to calm my mind. _Am I really, truly going to be a real part of the SPA with Wes threatening me like this?_


	5. Betrayal Begins

**Just realized I said SPA instead of ETPA twice in the last chapter. Haha, woops, just pretend I said ETPA and SPA was never mentioned in that chapter. Also, I fixed Kei's profile. It didn't include Mantine, and I changed my mind about Gliscor since the plot didn't really seem to be flowing that way. I intended for Wes to be a small subplot, but it's going to actually be quite a large part of it. Enjoy!**

My fall to the ground is rather harsh. I'm dropped from about ten feet. I know it doesn't sound that bad, but for the past years, I've hardly had to lift my feet. And dropping to the ground is not the most fun thing I can think of to do.

When I land, I'm on my backside, which I suppose is better than most alternatives I can think of. Not that I really can think of many when there are suddenly sounds all around me.

"Kei! Are you alright?" Lucas' voice. I'll need to talk to him later.

"What happened?" Rowan.

I take a minute to compose myself. "Um, I'm fine." Oh crap, what should I tell them? I still see Skarmory flying overhead, so I can't tell the truth, and Lucas would know that I wasn't only at the gym. And what about Volkner? I need to think of a lie, quick, so I say, "nothing much happened. I was just running around Sunyshore for a while trying to find Lucas. Then, I went to Route 222 and ended up at Lake Valour, where a kind man offered to let me borrow his Skarmory to get back home." I know quite a bit about Sinnoh's geography, but I never thought it would save me this much one day.

I see Lucas and Rowan exchange a glance, but then, Lucas looks back at me as I stand up. "We're glad to see you're alive and well, Kei. I'm sorry I left, I thought your battle would take longer, so I thought that maybe it'd be okay to stop by the stores around, but I guess I overestimated you. Do you forgive me?"

"Hey!" I snap, holding back a smile. "Did you just call me a weakling, shortie?"

"Did you just call me a shortie, weakling?" We're able to glare with straight faces briefly, but he giggles and breaks the silence.

"I'm serious!" For a moment, he thinks I am. "I'm only weak because I don't have experience!" I lean over him, intimidating him.

"Woah, woah, I'm sorry! Please calm down!"

I can't take it anymore. I chuckle. "It's no problem, i was just kidding."

He sighs in relief, but whether it's false or not I can't tell. "Whatever."

Rowan clears his throat, and Lucas and I look at him. "Kei, we need to talk in the lab please. Alone."

I nod and follow him. He goes to the end of the lab and pulls out two black spinny chairs by the table, sitting in the larger one. At the end of one of the tables, I see a blue haired girl reading a book. "Please, sit."

"Yeah…" I say. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, first, here are your Pokemon. Skarmory will come later." He hands me two Pokeballs, but he still has some odd look on his face.

"There must be something else, right?" I mention quickly and nervously.

"Yes. What you said earlier. That you went to Route 222?"

Pause. "What about it?" Oh crud, did I get mixed between Route 222 and some other route? I turn pale.

He begins talking slowly. "Well, you see Kei, Route 222 is actually closed, and has been closed for a long time, besides a cliff where some grass has grown." He speaks normally again. "So I thought you're probably lying to us. Is that true, Kei?"

My blood turns cold. I don't have words but we both know that I'm not telling the truth. "Um… I was at Route 223, possibly. We- I mean north of Sunyshore. Right? That's where I was." That isn't exactly a lie. I have no idea where I was.

Rowan glares. "You're lying, I can tell easily. If you don't tell me what really happened, I'll have to report you."

I don't question who he would tell, I'm busy trying to lie here. "That's seriously what happened!"

"No it's not."

"Yes it is! If I can't convince you otherwise, you're punishing the innocent!"

He looks up at me, his angered expression unchanging. "Then why do you smell like gunpowder and bombs? Kei," he sighed, "if you're going to be this difficult, then I'll say it outright. The ETPA _needs_ to know at least what the gunpowder scent is about, and if you can't tell us, we'll need you to be out of SPA and ETPA territory."

"But nothing is up with me, and you know it!"

"That might be so, and if I made the rules, I'd be confident enough to say you aren't a threat. But you have the scent of dangerous weapons, and the code that both alliances have agreed to follow is that any dangerous material or evidence of such is to be investigated, and termination of the rules results in immediate banishment." He speaks as if talking from a script.

I consider my decisions. I could prove my loyalty to the ETPA right now and tell Rowan about Volkner or Wes. Or I could tell Volkner about Wes and Rowan. Or I could tell Wes about Rowan and Volkner. With the first choice, I could just play it safe, but be in trouble with Wes. With the second choice, there's no guarantee that Volkner will get an email I send right away. Besides, I'm not into this whole Pokerus business, and I don't care anyway.

So I go with my gut. "I'm not telling you a thing." I run outside and look at the sky to see Skarmory ascending from the lab, presumably from listening in the window. "Skarmory!" I cup my hands around my mouth. "Take me back!"

Skarmory is already going down though. I bet it knows what I was going to do. Rowan and Lucas look up in disbelief. Then, Rowan shouts, "Dawn, get her!"

The blue haired girl runs out of the lab, and I watch her get smaller as she sends out a Crobat, and they fly after us. Shoot.

"Skarmory, faster!" Skarmory nods and speeds up so much I hardly cling on to it. Soon enough, I see Dawn and Crobat get lost behind us as we pass an island. I'm able to make out several chanting Pichu and tropical trees.

After several minutes of flying, I notice a landmass below us. There appear to be multiple cities, but when I see whirlpools, I gasp. "Holy crap, is this Johto, and are those the Whirl Islands?"

Skarmory looks down, and nods briefly before continuing. It was probably my imagination though, and I can't expect a Pokemon to have memorized the geography of every region. Eventually, we reach a large desert, then begin to rise higher. I see some stranded cities, and then a tall tower. Out of the corner of my eye, I see what appears to be an exploded base, and I chuckle inwardly. Probably something Wes blew up.

When we're finally at the height I'd expect mountains to be at, I see a lush village. When we're over it, Skarmory descends, eventually on top of a house, then perches at a window. Wes is on the bed, sleeping in the same clothes, but with a peaceful expression.

Seeing a terrorist bomber who is always grumpy and who casually admits to a stranger that he blew up a region thrice is shocking in and of itself, but seeing him looking as if he gives up his job is quite astounding. I poke his forehead softly.

"Hey, Wes… Wes? Wake up." I say, first with a soft tone, but then turn quickly impatient.

"Hmmm?" He grunts. I'm shocked that he hasn't immediately noticed that he's in a vulnerable position in front of someone who could potentially be a threat.

"Wes, I'm back. They gave me the Pokemon and I left. You should wake up now so we can discuss the details."

"What details?" He asks as he sits up and rubs his eyes. The only difference in his clothing is that the coat is on the other side of the bed.

I'm surprised that I'm the one trying to initiate this conversation. "Um… I just figured you'd want to know exactly how the conversation about the scent of gunpowder on me went…"

Wes looks at me like I just described a war won by a single Magikarp against a team on legendary Pokemon. "Kei, I'm not stupid. I assure that I never smell of gunpowder, or I would be accused right away of something."

There's an awkward silence. "Oh. Is that a problem?" I probably sound like the biggest idiot in the world right now, but I can't assume that Wes thinks higher than that of anyone. From what I've seen, he might as well be a sociopath.

His expression becomes his normal one. "Yeah. But the most important thing isn't really getting the scent off of you yet, we need to figure out how it got there first. Most importantly, you haven't been near the center of any of the bombs, have you?"

Just casual conversations with a terrorist about bombs. Is this going to become my everyday life? If so, I think I might learn a thing or two I didn't know before. "Well, I lived in Eterna-"

"Alright then, not that. What people and Pokemon have you been around lately?"

"Uh… Volkner, Rowan, Lucas, Dawn, Jolteon, Leafeon, Jolteon… I think that's it."

He nods after a moment of looking into my eyes, probably using some magical lie detector. "Has anyone touched you?"

I think for a moment. "No, not that I really remember. The only physical contact I really have with another life form is my Leafeon."

"And that was before you got the three Pokeballs?"

"Rowan pointed it out in the same conversation. And I only got two of them."

"So you're telling me you've had absolutely no interaction with a strange person, let alone contact with anyone?"

"Yeah, that's exactly it. Unless someone erased my memory," I remark dryly.

Wes, however, seems to take it seriously, as he suddenly looks surprised. "That's it exactly. It could've been someone who's tracking you, trying to damage my reputation…" Self-centered? Sounds pretty sociopathic to me.

There's another silence as the rogue trainer looks at the floor, thinking. Forever passes by before I dare to speak. "Who would that be?"

His head snaps upward in an instant, but his expression is still drained of emotion. "Someone trying to avenge Snagem or Cipher. Let's see…" He goes into another phase of thinking. "Did you ever fall asleep on Skarmory's back on the way to the lab?"

I think for several moments, knowing that my response could determine whether I get to stay with someone who could easily kick me out of my only safe place right now. Which makes me think that Wes really is my only ally, if I can call him that. Several moments turn into minutes, and I'm sure he's turning impatient, so I look up at him, but he still looks like he did earlier. I stare, and he doesn't react. I'm sure he thinks I'm stupid right now. Eventually, I decide to respond. Something is better than nothing, it might continue this conversation. "Well, it's a possibility. I guess the surroundings looked unfamiliar when I was on my way back, so I could've fallen asleep or had my memory temporarily erased or something."

He leans in to whisper almost silently. "That's it. The Skarmory at our windowsill isn't the one I sent out. Mine is probably being held hostage."

So that means there's no way for him to know that I didn't say anything that could reveal his location to Rowan or anyone else. I'm not safe anymore. I speak equally as quietly. "So does that mean that you aren't sure about my loyalty?"

He sighs. "That's really not my greatest concern at the moment. But as for your question, I think I can assume you're the only person I really trust."

Wait, but I thought he was with Rui for several years? "But Rui-"

"Don't bring her into this. You're the only one who's going to help me get Skarmory back. I have a plan that'll lead us to the enemies right away, but you have to listen first…"


	6. Mount Silver

Apparently, Wes' plan was to catch the Skarmory with his Snag Machine and use a PC to check the Original Trainer, or OT as he calls it. Now, we're at the Pokemon Center, both very confused at the name we see on the screen.

"Wes, am I hallucinating? Does that really say…"

Even he hesitates to speak. "I… don't really have words."

I consider what could've happened. PCs very, _very_ rarely malfunction from what I've heard, and every time, it's just an error with the spelling of an attack or something similar, but the OT is always correct. This Skarmory is leading me to have doubts. Even I know who that trainer is, and it's certainly not someone from Cipher or Snagem.

"Well…" He mutters.

"Well?"

"Maybe it was traded or something, but… _how?_"

Words don't work anymore. I decide to just say it. "So, do you have any possible explanation on how the world's most famous trainer could get this Pokemon, and why it would target your Skarmory, and how it would know to circle the lab, and…"

"Kei, stop joking around. There's has to be a mistake." But we both know it's not true. We both stare at the word 'Red' on the screen for many extended minutes, possibly even an hour.

"What are we going to do?"

"Go to Mount Silver, of course. But…"

"Yes?"

"I'm overthinking this. We'll take… _Red's_ Skarmory, my Altaria, and my Flygon. The three legendary dogs should suffice for any battling we might have to do. Come on." Wes grabs my wrist and drags me out of the Pokemon Center. When we're out in the village, I realize that this is the first time I've made physical contact with a human since I left home.

I walk mindlessly while the memories come back to me. My loving mother and father embracing me for the last time before I went to bed. How warm it felt physically and emotionally to be loved. My tears the night I left home to live on my own. My regrets since then. Sentimentality is not my favorite thing, and this is why I hate it. All I associate it with is my life before the Sinnoh region, before Leafeon, and before the war. I almost trip over my shoe, but that almost trip sends Wes and I falling to the ground, so I guess I _did_ trip. Whoops.

Thankfully, I don't have to go through the awkward situation of me being on top of him and my blushing and all that. I have nothing to be embarrassed about anymore, he knows I'm stupid. We just land next to each other. "Are you alright?" I ask, panicking suddenly. "I'm so so sorry that I-"

"Relax, we all make mistakes." Wes gets up, briefly cleans his jacket, offers me a hand, and when I take it, he continues like nothing ever happened. I'm sort of baffled. Did Wes just brush that off like it didn't matter? I just made him look stupid in front of all of these villagers, and he doesn't care at all? _Oh, that's right, _I think, _he doesn't have feelings._

When we're at the village's end, I almost walk farther once he lets go of me, but then I look down and realize that there's a cliff. Wes reaches to grab me, but sees that I stopped myself. He gives me a look for a second, but then just sends out Altaria and Flygon. He mounts Flygon and I get on Altaria. "Ciela, take Kei to Mount Silver. Sandstorm, take me to Realgam Tower." The Pokemon nod simultaneously, and after a moment of realizing what he said, I gasp.

"Wait! Why are we…" But then I realize it's too late, and the Pokemon have flown quickly in different directions. I'm left utterly confused. Did he just ditch me? Assuming the Pokemon fly at the same speed and Wes is doing more than just stopping at Realgam Tower, am I going to be on a mountain alone?

Another realization makes me consider if Wes thought out his plan well enough. Mount Silver is in Johto and Kanto territory, and that means SPA territory. The SPA dislikes me in particular because I was with the ETPA first, and then I broke their precious code to keep peace for ordinary citizens, meaning Rowan probably has my face on every 'Wanted' sign there is now.

"Altaria… go back!" I shout. But it's to no avail, as the Pokemon shakes its head slightly and keeps going. I start shaking in terror, and for some reason, remember my family again. If it weren't for my stupid decision that night I left home, I could be at home with my family playing some recent console in the living room while listening to my dad blabber about some recent happening in the news and my mother making witty comments or making some of my own.

I tear up, and with one tear falling after the next and a sob slipping out with every passing few seconds, I think I'm crying. Altaria doesn't seem to react though, still soaring over the ocean without any idea of what it's doing or what will happen to me. At least, maybe. This could be Wes just getting rid of me for good.

When Altaria begins to descend, I force myself to stop sobbing. We're on the side of a snowy cliff, surrounded by tall grass that, in my experience, is just full of wild Pokemon ready to attack at any moment. Then, my last hope is crushed when Altaria flies away. I consider calling for it, but just stare as the flying fluffy cloud with a head, pair of talons, tail, and no heart leaves me. Trying to think optimistically, I decide to sit under a tree and wait for Wes since I have no idea what his plan was.

I send out Leafeon to help keep warm, but it seems to hate the cold, so I allow it back into its Pokeball. I hope it's nice in there.

Still no sign of Wes. It's getting dark. I can't say anything about how good my vision is, but I don't think Wes is anywhere around here.

I pray to Arceus that I'll survive. It's midnight, and I haven't even heard anything besides wind and the occasional calls of Pokemon in the grass, but no Flygon, Altaria, or Skarmory. I'll either die of frostbite or starvation; I haven't eaten since before I got in this mess.

I'm losing hope. It's morning already, and I've barely slept. I send out Leafeon, and it looks sad too, like it knows. Wes has forgotten about me or hates me.

I knew he was a sociopath, but because of my stupid, trusting personality, I didn't consider this happening.

What a fitting ending. I hug Leafeon and let my tears out again. It whines a bit too.

I hate to leave my Leafeon like this. I mutter some nonsense about how it's the best friend I've ever had. But it already knows what I say. What it doesn't now is that these are my last words. "Leafeon, I love you." I walk to the edge of the cliff.

And I jump.

**(Don't worry, that's not the end! I'm not THAT heartless!)**


	7. Unique Unova- Finally, a Safe Place!

**A/N: Thanks for the support guys! The last chapter ended that 'arc' of this story, but don't worry, Wes will be back later! Also, I've decided that for the sake of the story being not 900 chapters long, I won't include all Gym Leaders/E4/Champions, but I will include some that work with my current plot. And for the last thing, I have a poll on my profile about how this story should end (no spoilers don't worry).**

I wake up, but don't open my eyes yet. I have no idea how I'm still alive. All I know is that everything hurts, I regretted it right after I jumped, and Arceus gave me another chance, evident by the fact that I'm laying down in a bed and in different clothes. Wait, different clothes? Did someone change my clothes for me?

But that should be the least of my concerns. In the two seconds my eyes were open, I figured out that I'm in a bed with white sheets and blankets, which probably means that the pillows are white too.

"I see you're awake." I hear a male voice and footsteps, meaning he just entered the room. "Why don't you open your eyes?"

"Too bright," I whisper. It's even uncomfortable to move my mouth.

"Oh, I see. I'll dim them then." He walks further to my right. I don't hear anything else though, but I assume he did something. "There, try now."

I open my eyes, and the light is dimmed enough for me to look around. When I look to where I heard the man step, I see a scientist. He looks fairly typical; white lab coat, gloves, black and blue clothes, and golden eyes. What I find particularly strange is the blue spiral around his head that starts at his scalp and goes all the way around. "Who are you and where am I? What about Leafeon?"

"I assume your biggest concern is your Pokemon, since your own life didn't appear to be enough. Leafeon is okay" He motions to a smaller bed next to mine, and Leafeon is sleeping peacefully. I sigh in relief, then look back to him. "My name is Colress, former Team Plasma member. You're in my lab, located in Unova. Beheeyem teleported us here."

I know absolutely nothing about the geography of Unova, so I guess it doesn't matter where I am. But I remember back to when Volkner was telling me about Unova, and in that same conversation… "So you're native here?"

"Absolutely. Now, it's time for me to ask you some questions." I flinch away, and he frowns. "Are you alright?"

Wait, this guy I just met cares about me already? "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Which alliance are you with? I see you have marked Pokeballs."

"Interesting response, actually. I was originally in Sinnoh, then I joined the ETPA, and before I even started training…" Hold on, why am I telling this guy all of this? Well, I guess he's with Unova and would've reported me by now if he cared to. "I betrayed them. Lucas took me to see this guy named Volkner, who was supposed to fix the SPA's hacking. But he was with the SPA, and when we were alone, he tried to convince me to join the SPA, and he told me Unova was going to join the SPA, and that they had two powerful trainers named Rosa and Nate." I look up, and he's still listening intently. "He told me about the legendary Pokemon they were able to train. Then he told me that I have the potential to catch one too. Specifically, Kyurem."

Colress nodded. "So he said you were one of the special trainers capable of catching legendary Pokemon?"

"Not exactly in those words, but basically."

"Fascinating." He walks the the end of my bed and looks me in the eyes. "Why do you think he said that?"

"Probably a lie to get me to join him." Sounds logical to me. Even though it'd be really cool if I could catch a Kyurem, I highly doubt that's possible.

"I disagree. Volkner was telling the truth. In fact, he even caught Zapdos once before releasing it, and only those capable of catching legendary Pokemon are able to see if others are able to."

"Then why didn't I recognize him as one?"

"Because you weren't aware yet."

"Oh." I stare at him, waiting for him to say something else. Then, a deep growling sound is heard. I jump, but he laughs.

"Hungry?"

"A little." I blush, and the fact that I know I'm blushing makes me blush harder. Proven fact.

"You could've said so. If you aren't too weak, you can come into the kitchen. It's right out here." He goes to the other end of the room and opens a door. "Do you need me to bring something to you?"

"No, I think I can get it myself." I try to swing my feet over the edge of the bed, but almost scream when I remember the pain in my legs when I move them. "Actually, sure." He laughs again, but walks out.

I compare Wes and Colress. First, their names rhyme. They are both suspiciously kind to me quickly, but Wes seemed to have more reason, and wanted to kill me at first.

Oh, that's right. Rui told him I have legendary potential, so he kept me alive. And why was Colress so nice to me? I'd bet it's because I can catch legendary Pokemon. Haha. I wonder who my next 'ally' will be. What ever happened to Wes anyway? Not that I should care in the slightest, but I kinda wonder what he's doing, and if he ever thinks of me.

Colress walks back in with a plate that has two cups, a kettle, and a bowl of berries. "Tea?" I nod, and he sets down the cups, kettle, and berries on a bedside table I never noticed. He puts the bowl in the middle and pours the tea into each cup. He sits on the bed Leafeon is still sleeping on. I take note of the bandages on Leafeon.

Did he actually help me before he knew about my potential to catch legendary Pokemon?

"So Kei, you never finished your story. How did you end up trying to kill yourself?"

Oh, sweet memory lane. "Well, after the whole event with Volkner, a bomb went off in the area. This guy names Wes-"

"_Wes?_" He asks, choking on his tea. Taboo name?

"Yeah, this guy with silver hair, blue trench coat, snag machine, blows stuff up, cause of most destruction in the Sinnoh region…"

He straightens himself up again and clears his throat. "I'll tell you later. Go on."

"He took me to his house in some village in his region and wanted to kill me, but his partner Rui told him that I had the potential to catch legendary Pokemon. He told me I'd have to work undercover for him, but instead, I told Rowan- the guy who was letting me join the ETPA in the first place- that I was quitting. So I flew back, and it turned out that Wes' Skarmory had been switched somehow. He snagged the Skarmory that had flown me back, and the OT was Red. He told me a plan to go back to Mount Silver and defeat Red and reclaim Skarmory, but he had Altaria and Flygon go to separate places, and Altaria left me behind."

"And you killed yourself because of that?"

"No, I waited at least 24 hours, but I never even heard anything besides the occasional Sneasel or Donphan passing by."

He nods. I tell him the story of my life… and he just _nods._ Please, Arceus, don't tell me I'm with another emotionless human. "So, about Wes… he's rogue. I assume you know that?"

"Yeah..."

"And he steals Pokemon from trainers. You know that, too?"

"Yeah."

"And surely you've figured out he's a sociopath."

"Obviously."

"What about his story with Rui?"

"Not really."

"I would tell you, but let's just say she almost died at his hands."

Silence. "You mean he was trying to kill her?"

"Much more. He tortured her. She was an innocent villager he saved, and she wanted to follow him to show her gratitude. He accepted. By the time he purified all of the evil Pokemon though, the evil seemed to have gotten to him. He'd leave her behind, confuse her, attempt to push her into the deep water, or off the highest cliffs of Mount Battle, and then just laugh… Kei, you were with a psychotic, cold hearted murderer. He just wanted to dispose of you."

I don't speak. Words can't describe my thoughts at this point. I try to think of something in Wes' defense, but Colress makes sense in every way. Everything Wes tried to do to fool me into thinking he had a personality of some sort was all a lie to manipulate me.

"That must be a lot for you to take in. Leafeon appears to be waking up, so you should make sure it's okay."

I reach out, and am barely able to grab Leafeon and pull it over to my bed and onto my lap. Its eyes open, and it comes alive suddenly. It looks every way unnaturally fast, and when it sees me, calms down, and I stroke it. "Shh… it's okay. We're fine." Leafeon closes its eyes.

"Have you ever battled with Leafeon?"

"Well, I tried once against Volkner, but we lost quickly. But besides that, all we did was take walks now and then." Colress hums, but says nothing else, just looking at his teacup. "What do you plan to do with me?"

"I don't really have anything in mind. I saved you, and might as well let you go, but Kei," he said, looking up and smirking at me, "you appear to be vulnerable, so what's your plan?"

"What do you mean by vulnerable?"

"Well, use your brain. A teenage girl with nothing but an inexperienced Leafeon-"

"I also have a Rapidash and a Mantine!" But they're inexperienced too, and we both know it, so he keeps his smirk.

"-who also is the target of both the SPA and ETPA. Unova isn't on either side as a whole, but there are people who are trying to get it to join one side or the other, and those people have supporters. We have a mixed government, but that shouldn't matter to you. Everyone is targeting you. Now that Wes is gone, you don't have someone to assure your safety, and you don't even have a Pokemon that can fly."

"Mantine?"

"Nope."

"What about you? Are you an ETPA supporter or SPA?"

"I'm not obliged to help one or the other, at least, not at the moment. Now, answer my question."

I purse my lips. There's only a small chance of this working. "Would you please help me?"

He laughs. So he wanted me to ask that! "I thought you would never ask. Sure, I don't really have anything else to do."

"Where do you want to go?" I ask.

"I think that first, it's necessary that you meet someone who was in a similar situation as you about a year ago. Her name is Leaf. I'll be back soon." And with that, Colress leaves the room.


	8. Catching Kyurem, Attempt One!

**Hey guys! Sorry for the slow updates, I've been busy lately with life. After I post this chapter, I'm putting this story on hold, but don't worry! I don't believe in discontinuing stories. That said, I might not be back until mid-February. But I promise to continue it then or before. But I tried to make this a long chapter to compensate, so I hope you like it!**

I think I'm finally able to move normally after a few minutes of Colress' absence to get Leaf. I finally get off the bed, and find that I'm more than a bit unsteady on my feet, as I almost fall down. I use the bed to balance myself, and just when I think I'm finally capable of using my limbs to walk, Colress walks in, followed by Leaf. Leaf has straight brown hair, a blue shirt, a red skirt, and blue ruffled socks. She has a small frown on her face. "Kei, meet Leaf. Leaf, meet Kei."

"Hi, Leaf!"

"Hello." Her voice is monotonous. Her eyes are droopy. I can only conclude that Colress woke her up at a bad time. I glance over at him nervously, and he appears completely oblivious to the fact that he's the only one smiling. After a moment of staring at each other, Leaf finally says, "is this the girl I'm working with?"

"Wait, where in the name of Arceus did _working-"_

"That's an excellent question, Leaf! Yes, this is Kei Ryuta-"

"How do you know my last name?"

"-and she is capable of catching legendary Pokemon."

Leaf stares at me for a few moments longer, her eyes slightly widened, but then then droop again and her bored face is back. I smile brightly to lighten the mood, but I take mental note to ask Colress how he knows my last name later. "Are you sure? She seems pretty pathetic."

Colress keeps his happy expression. It almost seems as forced as mine is, but maybe that's just me. "I'm absolutely sure of it!"

She glares, but then shakes her head. "I won't believe it until it's proven to me. Let's go where you said we'd be going."

"Alrighty then. Beheeyem, use Teleport!" He says when he sends out the Psychic Pokemon.

I close my eyes briefly, and when I open them, we're in a forest surrounded by mountains out in the rain. "Woah! Where are we?"

Colress slowly begins to lose his enthusiasm as he realizes that the tension between Leaf and I won't get any better with conflict. "We're in the Giant Chasm. Many rare Pokemon reside here, such as Ditto, Metang, and most importantly, Kyurem. That's what we're here for."

I gasp. "Wait, don't I have to _catch_ Kyurem? How am I going to do that with solely Leafeon and some other untrained Pokemon I just recently got?"

"Relax. We're just here to see if Kyurem is compatible with you, and if there are any chances of it accepting you as its trainer."

I sigh, but my anxiety has hardly calmed down. What if this was all just a lie started by Volkner to get me to join the SPA? I can hardly think about what the consequences would be if I ended up unable to catch Kyurem. Everyone would think I'm completely useless, and I'd probably end up MIA. The three of us navigate a forest, stepping away from tall grass, and eventually making it to a giant opening of a cave.

"Kei, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, I think. It's worth a try, at least." With that, Colress steps forward, as Leaf and I (the former _clearly_ showing discontent) follow. The path is surrounded by small puddles, and at the end, there's another smaller entrance, and I think I can make out some gray.

"Let's go." I take the initiative this time to go first. If I'm not feeling bold enough to do that, there's no possibility of my catching Kyurem.

With the first step in the room, I flinch at first at the cold temperature, but continue to see the one and only Kyurem. It's quite tall, around three meters I'd suppose. Once I'm within an arms length of its head, I hesitantly reach my hand out. "Hey, Kyurem…"

"Colress," I barely hear Leaf whisper, "is it just me, or is there someone else here?"

"That wouldn't make sense though… why would someone else me here?"

I try my hardest to ignore them. I fear for my life what would happen if Kyurem got angry at some other presence. But so far, it hasn't attacked the three of us, let alone moved at all since I was at the door. I slowly reach out far enough to touch the end of its nose. It is completely unmoving.

I turn to Colress. "I think it likes me. It's safe to assume that Kyurem would've attacked by now if it didn't like me." He nods, and turns to Leaf.

"Think we should go now?" But I discover right after that Kyurem has other plans. It uses Ice Beam to cover up the exit to the cave, and uses Blizzard to blur our vision, probably. But who knows, all I care about is getting out of here right now as soon as possible. "Kei!" Colress is trying to say something, and when I look at him, I panic when I see anger in his expression. He's disappointed in me. "What happened?"

"I don't know! It was suddenly mad when you mentioned leaving!"

Colress looks at Leaf, mumbles something that Kyurem's roar drowns out, and turns back to me. "Fix it!"

I hear another voice coming out of the entrance to the cave which I barely hear, but strain to out of interest in the new voice. "I'll do that for her. Magcargo, Fire Blast!"

The ice covering the entrance is melted, and Kyurem has stopped the blizzard and roaring. I look out at the entrance, and feel my something in my stomach become severely uncomfortable. _Severely._ To top it all off, I can hardly talk. After a long silence, I speak. "Wes?"

"That's my name." He smirks, cocky for some reason.

I walk over to him, and push Colress out of the way mindlessly when he tries to block me. Colress says something, but I don't catch it. I'm too fixated on Wes "Where were you?"

"I should be asking you that." His expression is unchanged. Never have I felt to obligated to slap someone. I would if it weren't for how much he intimidates me.

"What do you mean? I was on the cliff on the side of Mount Silver, and I you told your Flygon to fly you to Realgam Tower, leaving me stranded and tempted to suicide! I would be dead if not for Colress!"

He paused, eyes widening slightly. "Altaria… was most likely replaced too then, most likely by that same trainer, Red." We just stare at eachother for several moments, and Colress breaks the silence.

"Kei, don't you remember what I told you?! Wes is completely insane! He's bound to betray you-"

"No!" I shout. It's almost involuntary, though. I don't want to go back with Wes. Yet at the same time, I'd like to stay in the same place as I was before. And with Wes, I could just be rogue without worrying about the war. "I mean, I think the best course of action for me would be to stay with Wes. I'm sorry."

"Then I'm going to," Leaf says. I'm shocked at that she actually bothered to speak again in my presence. "You seem strong enough. I could start again with a new partner if I went with someone like you."

Wes glares at her for a few moments, scrutinizing her, taking in every detail about how good of an ally she would make. I can only imagine he'd rather take her. I'm a total wus and a weakling when it comes to anything pertaining to risk, while Leaf is quiet, bold, and beautiful, and she's probably good at battles. "And what makes you think I'd even consider letting you join me?" He says after a while. All of us gape.

"Oh." I say after a while. "Well, you best be on your way then."

"I'm just waiting for you."

"What?"

"You're coming with me, if that wasn't made clear."

"No she's not. Kei, you're staying with us, aren't you?"

"She isn't in the business of being treated badly by a brat and a fake scientist. At least, I hope not, or I might have to bomb this whole place."

"Well, Kei? Make your choice. Your options are to stay with me and live a relatively relaxing life, or go with the psycho and get yourself killed within weeks."

"I have no idea what to do… and I don't get why either of you would ever want me on your team."

"Kei, if you know what's best for you, just come with Leaf and I!" Colress is trying to convince me, but Wes is silent, like he thinks that my joining his side is already assured, but I can't help but notice that he isn't smiling anymore at all. It's been replaced by a completely blank expression with the smallest signs of… sadness, possibly?

"I don't know… anyone, uh… have a coin, or app, or something?"

"Don't be stupid, Kei! Don't put your life in the hands of a coin! Just join our side if it's so hard. There's nothing Wes can offer you but the need to look over your shoulder every minute. We'd have your back, right, Leaf?"

"Why don't we just exchange? Kei can go live safely with Colress, and I can have the exciting life I want with Wes," Leaf suggests.

"No means no!" Wes practically shouts. "Kei, you're coming-"

"Wes doesn't even care about you, Kei!"

Wes winces and frowns, looking a bit hurt. I guess there's a first for everything. "I do care about her. A lot. Enough to get her out of here and explain the truth about Unova to her, if that counts for anything."

"What?"

"Come on." Wes grabs my hand and runs out of the cave. He sends out Flygon and Tropius, and motions for me to get on Tropius. I do without the hesitation I should have. He instructs them both to fly upwards, and when we're almost unable to see the ground and Colress and Leaf's shapes are fading out of view, Wes commands them to stop. He pulls something out of his jacket, pulls out a match, and right before I figure out what he's doing, he lights a fuse and drops both items.

"Why are you bombing them?!"

"It's the only way we can continue peacefully. If they were there to interfere, my plan to get away from all of the warring regions would be ruined."

"What plan? You never told me about it!"

"I came up with it when we weren't together. Chill, I would've told you given the opportunity." He looks down at the ground, and the bomb goes off, and when I look down too, I lean, trying to make out the ground.

"Are they okay?"

He smiles a bit, but only for a moment. "Most likely not. That'll put them in the hospital, if anyone finds them."

My voice begins to tremble. "I don't see why that was necessary…" Tears come to my eyes, and I look up at him. "I don't think it was necessary at all to kill them! They were my friends! And in fact, my _only_ friends I've had in a while?"

"How am I any less than your friend?"

"You're a psychopath that kills people! You're insane, and you're only using me to catch legendary Pokemon and prosper by yourself. You wouldn't care about me in the slightest if it weren't for my magical ability, apparently completely rare." The floodgates open, and I start sobbing.

Wes looks shocked and worried. Almost, but not really. "Oh shoot, don't cry! Look, I don't care about your ability to catch legendary Pokemon, because I-"

"You what, just care for me? I'm done! Tropius, take me down!"

"Tropius, do nothing! Kei, _let me talk._" If looks could kill…

"Go ahead. You have 45 seconds… before I jump." It's not like I have anything else to live for if he doesn't care about me. Well, he doesn't. I guess I'm just giving him a chance to see what he says.

He sends out a Pokemon, and when it comes out, I almost fall off on accident. "Kei, if I cared about catching a legendary Pokemon, I would get it for myself."

"So you've had a Celebi all along…"

"Yeah. Kei, do you believe me now? I genuinely care about you."

"But why would you be so cruel to Rui that one day if you actually had something besides callousness in you?"

"She followed me around, and eventually, resorted to some pretty ridiculous things to just get us to… be together, or something. I don't really get it, though. Let's go to Realgam Tower, I'll tell you what I was doing there later."

She wanted to be with him? It's pretty heartless to reject someone like he did. Maybe he actually changed somehow.

Or maybe I'm just a fool, falling for his deceptions and carefully planned out words to lure me into helping him. But as he said, he can catch legendary Pokemon for himself, and if he wanted strength on his team, Leaf would've obviously been his first option since she was offering to join him. "I suspect you're wondering why I wouldn't choose Leaf over you." Mind-reader Wes is actually Psychic-type Pokemon! That explains a lot!

"Yeah…"

"It's because she has the ability to catch legendary Pokemon-"

"You make less sense the more you talk, I'm just saying."

"Let me finish. She was getting smug, like Rui did when she learned that I needed her to catch Shadow Pokemon."

"What are-"

"Please, _please_ don't question it. I don't feel like explaining."

"Okay, fine. But please tell me, why do you care about me in the first place?"

He pauses, then looks me in the eye. Intimidating. "That makes even less sense than anything else that I've said. If you want me to put it into short, it's just that I think you're different. My intuition is never wrong, it made me take down not one, but two criminal organizations. But you just seem so pathetic and weak, and I've learned through my journey that even the worst of people have something that makes them good, and it's not like being able to catch a legendary Pokemon is any special ability only given to a special few. About 10% of people can do that, and it's by chance."

"So that's it? You think I'm totally weak and pathetic, so you're putting up this act to try to find out if I actually have any potential?"

"Well, yeah," he says, sounding completely honest. "I mean, minus the totally weak and pathetic part," he hurriedly adds. Yeah, right.

Wes, you are one completely cruel person.


	9. Back to Sinnoh!

**Sorry for the wait, but I'm back now! I've completely rewritten my plotline, but I promise, most of the characters will be showing up in the story at some point, but I wouldn't spoil my own story, would I? :)**

When Wes and I land in the middle of some forest, he looks over at me. "Are you okay? I mean, a lot has happened to you…"

"Yeah, yeah. You said something about explaining Unova's situation to me, right? And also, who do you have with you?"

"Of course. Unova has decided to stay out of the war, because they're mostly a peaceful region anyway. If Colress has said anything different to you, then don't believe him, okay? He was manipulating you, and I could tell that from even a short conversation. My current party is Flygon, Tropius, Magcargo, Feraligatr, Umbreon, and Celebi."

"That's great, but what about our current location? Where are we?"

He sighs, rubbing his temples. Then he smiles at me, a bad sign. "I have no idea." His smile drops. "Even my Pokemon have limits, you know. We'll start looking for a place to properly settle later. For all I know, we could be back at my home. One disadvantage of living where I do is that we have no idea about the rest of the world."

I've memorized most locations in the world, pretty much all but the place Wes comes from. As I observe my surroundings, I come to a conclusion that makes me freeze for a moment. "We're either in Viridian Forest, which is highly unlikely, or… Eterna Forest. I took walks here occasionally when my life was peaceful."

"I assume the later is more likely?"

"More like the first idea is wishful thinking. How long do we have before your flying Pokemon are recharged?"

"I'd guess we have about three hours. They really exerted themselves, and we will probably be going faster than we ever have once we can leave."

"So what until then? Are we just going to hide?" My stomach growls, and I turn slightly pink as Wes scoffs.

"That's not an option currently available to us. What are the surrounding areas?"

I think for a moment, remembering the map of Sinnoh I keep in my room. "To the west, we have thick bushes that would be a _nightmare_ to navigate through, but lead to the ocean. Northeast is Route 205 and Eterna City. South is Floaroma Town."

"So we can run, but we can't hide. That makes for a fun challenge," he says, smirking slightly.

"Kei! Is that you?" I recognize the voice. A former friend that I lost touch with, and someone who would probably have a nasty confrontation with Wes. I push him into the bushes, and turn around to meet my old friend, Barry.

"Barry? Oh, how are you?"

"I'm doing quite well. The investigation team for the ETPA is currently working on a case, looking for some terrorist bomber who is said to have recently flown in. Do you have any idea who he might be?"

Oh crap, is he on to me already? "No, I don't have any idea… why would I know?" My only talents are lying and playing stupid. And those can fail at vital moments, too.

"We were told to interrogate anyone suspicious," he says. Crap, crap, crap! "And you appear to have just gotten here, as I was here a few minutes ago."

Being an ally of Wes, I decide that I'm not going to risk anything, and just go on the offensive. "Barry, I don't want to have to do anything harmful to you."

He gasps. "Are you the bomber? I was told that he was male and has a female accomplice, but they never said anything about you…" He looks more shocked with every word, appearing to remember something. "That's right! You must be the one who escaped and is posted on like, every wanted sign ever? I just ignored it, but when I glanced at it… you're the one who escaped! But wouldn't a bombers' accomplice not be you since you're on your own?"

"Barry! No more questions! I need Feraligatr, or something to get Barry away."

Wes silently complies, sending out the Pokemon, apparently having just instructed it to do something. It uses Water Gun to slam Barry against a tree. I winced a bit as my previous friend falls to the ground. "Forgive me, Barry."

"He can't hear you," Wes says cynically as he climbs out from the bushes. "We're going to need to find some way to get away from anyone he may have reported to."

"But he didn't say-"

"You don't know that. He could've had some signal he sends, or he could be being tracked and recorded. One of the above is definitely true though. If you look up, well, that's evidence itself."

I look at the sky. A Dragonite, Staraptor, and a Pidgeot are flying above us, circling our location. "As you can see," he says, "we're found. But no one is visible on their backs. If we run, we might escape."

"Okay, let's go," I say, leading the way to run south, where people might not recognize me from personal interactions. Might. Wes is running next to me. By the time the gate to the town is visible, I stop, causing Wes to stop, causing the birds to continue circling us. "I'm sorry, I have about no stamina…" I gasp.

"Then- oh, for Arceus' sake!" Wes takes me in his arms and starts running farther south, much faster than I was, even with my weight. "Heh… Don't think this means anything. I've carried Rui like this a thousand times, and you saw how that ended up." Hold on. Did Wes just… did he just flirt? Or am I an idiot? The later is much more likely, as Wes is incapable of emotion being a psycho.

Then why is he carrying me in the first place? As my gasping fit fades, everything starts to piece together. Wes dumping Rui, not actually trying to drive me to kill myself, coming to save me from freezing to death, genuinely caring what I think about him, and now this…

Yep, I'm officially confused. I just hope he's not my love interest, I don't want one until I'm promised to live. "Don't worry Kei, you'll live through this…"

Oh my god.


	10. Escaping Sinnoh

Eventually, Wes ends up setting me down, out of breath. The only problems we have now are that the bird Pokemon are still circling us, we have nowhere to run, and someone is probably coming after us as he gasps and I watch the sky. "What now?" I ask.

"I never thought it would come to this, but…" Wes looks around. "I think I may need to give myself up. As for you, you're going to use any possible method to get out of here." He hands me about 20 Ultra Balls and a Super Rod. "If it comes to catching a Pokemon able to use Surf, or one of the sort that can fly, then that's what you will do. By the way, where are we now?"

I look around, trying to remember. "North of Jubilife City, I think it's Route 204 or something."

"No," he mutters. "They'll be sure to catch us in such a crowded place."

Yeah, this isn't good. Surely there has to be some way to make sure that we stay together, or at least that we're both alive by the end. Right? But nothing is coming to me. "Sorry for being such a terrible partner."

"It's not like you had a choice. I just took you from your region and warped you view of the world. I should be sorry."

"This isn't like you at all."

"I said I should be sorry. I never mentioned anything about actually being sorry."

I shrug. "Good point."

Someone shouts. "There are the brats!"

"Go, run!" He whispers, pushing me away. I start to run as fast as I can, which I must say is probably the average person's walking speed. When I look back, I almost stop in shock. Wes is being held by the wrist, and his legs are being tied up, and then his arms. Then, he is dragged away, and two police start to chase me. At this, I start to run faster.

When I finally lose them, I'm in Eterna Forest, and I hide in a bush, recognizing the Old Chateau. I'm completely out of breath, but even more so when I suddenly realize something.

I'm completely on my own now. Wes is going to be arrested for a long time, and I've betrayed everyone else who might have helped me. Either that or Wes has forced me to betray them. But that's all the more reason I don't need him in order to live, right?

If only it were that simple. I look overhead to see a storm coming. How cliche for my life to end with a storm after losing my only hope. However, as I watch the clouds, something emerges. It's black, has lightning on it, and is a Pokemon by the looks of it. Its cry sounds like a high-pitched roar. Then, next to it, I see something white and red about the same size. The two Pokemon are descending, and as I get a better look at them, my eyes widen with shock. Are those the Pokemon I think they are?

Are those Reshiram and Zekrom?

As they come closer, I can tell that they are. The Zekrom lands on the ground first, followed closely by the Reshiram. Someone gets off the back of each Pokemon. The girl from the Zekrom has messy brown hair held in a ponytail, a pink cap, white shirt, black jacket, black boots, and holey shorts. The boy from the Reshiram has brown hair, a red hat, blue jacket, black jeans, and red shoes. They look around, walking towards each other. "Do you see anything?" The girl asks.

"Not really, but Reshiram senses someone else who isn't the one we're looking for. The thing is, this someone can catch legendary Pokemon."

The girl looks around, her gaze turning serious. "Hey! Come out, come out, wherever you are! I'm not in the mood to look for you!"

"Hilda, calm down. He or she is probably panicked." Hilda, huh? There's no way in hell I'm going to reveal myself that easily.

"But this person is clearly hiding on purpose, or we would've found them right away. Get out here, person!"

"Relax, there's no need to-"

"In case you were paying no attention, _Hilbert,_ Cheren said that someone was near Kyurem's den, and we can't have someone running around trying to catch it without us knowing all of the details!" So the other one is Hilbert. Wait a second… how did they detect where Wes and I are now? "Besides, don't you think it's a little weird that there were clearly _two_ people who left Unova and yet only _one_ was sensed?"

"Yeah, we're going to need to figure that out." By now, I already know that they're after me. If push comes to shove, I'll honor Wes and never let them take me alive. "But for now, it appears that one is all we can get. We'll take the person back to Unova and question them thoroughly the second we're able to take them. Hey, legendary person, can you hear me?" Hilbert raises his voice to a shout. "We're going to make sure you and your partner in crime are back to our region and in prison before you can catch Kyurem!" Holy Arceus. I am _not_ going to prison, especially if it's not in the same region as Wes.

"Hey, listen up!" Hilda shouts. "You have fifty seconds to reveal yourself, or we're burning this place to the ground to reveal you, and we're telling the whole region about your location! Starting… now! 50, 49, 48…" I have to run. I look for an exit, and think of a way to escape. "...36, 35, 34…" I crouch and bolt eastward. Although it's mostly uncharted territory, it's my best bet. "...23, 22, 21-"

"Hilda! Those bushes rustled! Reshiram, Zekrom, after her!" Hilda and Hilbert jump onto their respective partners. Reshiram goes northeast, and Zekrom goes southwest. not directly in my direction, but I should still be careful. As I leave the forest, I navigate through trees and thorn covered vines, my arms and legs getting scraped and bleeding in some places while I desperately cover my face.

I stay going directly west. It starts to rain as the storm intensifies. The pain is almost unbearable, but I withstand it to survive, and maybe to go back to my old life.

But that will never happen. I've chosen to live a lifestyle that I'm no longer sure that I like. After what seems like an eternity, I emerge to a small beach. A distant island is visible, probably Iron Island given my location on the mainland. It's rocky and rough, just a large mountain with a cave, not ideal for my current condition. However, I need to escape somehow, so I cast my fishing rod in. Nothing. Again. Nothing. I repeat about ten times. Nothing, and I hear Reshiram over the thunder.

I look around. No place to hide besides the trees, but as I start to navigate into the thicket, I see something splash in the water that looks like a red fin, and then it emerges. "Feraligatr? But there are no wild-" Then it hits me that Wes sent it. There's no other explanation. I get on its back, taking a moment to lower myself into the water, and it looks at me. So Wes gave it no instruction, huh. He just told it to get to me and follow my commands. Maybe there is hope. "Feraligatr, go west, and then north. I think there's something that way, but I can't be sure." It nods and we go.

Then, I look behind me. About 20 meters above and behind me is Hilda, following and watching us as Feraligatr senses my tension and takes it as a sign to speed up. "Hey! You! On the Feraligatr! Are you the one who tried to catch that Kyurem?!"

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about," I reply, but I think the sarcasm is a bit too evident in my voice.

"I knew it was you! Reshiram, pick up the pace, we're going to get her!"

"Sure you will!" Knowing Wes' flying Pokemon and how they carried me across oceans to reach distant regions, Feraligatr is probably no different, and can last way longer than this Reshiram, even if it is legendary. Even as Reshiram speeds up, Feraligatr sped up more, and now, I'm fully confident that I'm safe and that somehow, Wes is safe too. I just know, even without having any means of doing so. He has to be.


	11. The Oblivia Region

Feraligatr and I have swam a long way by now.

As in, I'm stranded on a beach with Feraligatr. All there are are a few trails leading in multiple directions and a Lapras swimming nearby. I look around; there are many Pokemon such as Hoppip and Pachirisu roaming around. Do they not have trainers?

Suddenly, I hear voices, and I spin around quickly. Several feet away are two trainers (presumably) with brown hair, shorts, tank tops, sleeveless jackets, and scarves. The girl is following behind the boy, and they're sitting while conversing peacefully with each other and you know, just the normal, typical, Latias and Latios.

I'm very curious at this point. Planning a surprise attack is pointless, and they don't look too dangerous, so I motion for Feraligatr to follow me as I go up to them. "Hello?"

All four look over at me. "Hello," says the girl quietly. "Who're you?"

"My name is Kei, who're you?"

"My name is Summer, and this is Ben…"

"Hi, uh, do you guys know where this place is?"

"Of course we do!" Ben says with much more confidence than his partner. "This is Lapras Beach, the edge of the Oblivia region! But where are you from? I haven't seen your face around here."

"I'm from Sinnoh. Do you know-"

"Wait a minute, how did you get here from there on a Pokemon? They don't have unlimited stamina you know, it's not good for them to go long distances like that!"

"Well…" I don't have an argument that either of these people seem like they would believe. And right now, I don't like the looks I'm getting from them as they continue to glare at me.

"I knew it," Ben says. "You must be a part of the Pokemon Pinchers that we took down a long time ago. Your clothes aren't that different, either."

"Ben, calm down, please. We don't know for sure if she's a threat, you're basing your suspicious off of your own hasty assumptions. Let her talk first." She turns to me. "Please, tell us how you really got here. That Feraligatr doesn't look exhausted, so it either has unreal stamina, or it has a lot of faith in you as a trainer."

I contemplate that for a moment. "Have you two heard of Wes, the terrorist bomber?"

They both nod.

"I'm his accomplice. He was getting arrested, and I was getting cornered by the ocean, so he sent one of his strongest Pokemon after me to keep me safe. But now, I don't know where to go, or what to do, or anything."

Summer smiles. "You really have someone who cares a lot about you, Kei. And you say you don't know what to do know that he's gone? You've grown quite dependant."

"So you don't have a problem with the fact that he's destroyed entire cities?"

"I never said that, but you sure don't seem to mind. After all, when you really care about someone, no matter what they've done, they're still in your heart, you know? I understand, Ben here has done some pretty crazy stuff."

Ben blushes. "Hey, don't tell that to just anyone!" They both laughed. "But Summer has a point."

"I get that, but I'm not really here to talk about our relationship. I need to figure out how I get back to him and free him from jail. As we're talking, he's probably being forced to talk by police or something."

"Or possibly tortured," Ben adds.

I shudder. "You're not helping."

"Now, back on subject, I think that we could get Nema to look up where Sinnoh keeps their prisoners, and you could go from there… but we can't assure you anything."

"Anything is better than nothing, I guess."

"Are you serious?" That's Nema's first reaction once we explain the whole story to her.

"Please? It's really important that I find him. Is there any way at all?"

There's a short silence when we can hear the Pokemon outside playing with Feraligatr. "There is a way, but I'm not sure I should. He was arrested, and we don't want someone like that running around free. Heck, weren't they after this girl too?" Nema's voice grew panicked. "Do you think we should turn her in? We don't need a repeat of the Pinchers incident!"

"Maybe we shouldn't allow her run around freely, but Nema, let's listen to her."

"Summer, are you serious?!" Ben practically shouts. "This girl sounds like a psycho! We need to get her tied up or something! How could I have not realized the obvious threat earlier?"

Summer flinches back. "Well, he's right. Sorry Kei, we hate to do this, but it's what any reasonable person would do." He grabs a large book from next to the table and hits me in the head.

Almost.

I run out before he can even pick it up. Summer and Nema are to slow, so I call out to Feraligatr and head for the nearby ocean that's connected to another village on a separate island. It follows me and I motion for it to get into the water as I strategically climb down the rocky ledge. There are footsteps that suddenly come from the house, and Ben is shouting something.

But it's too late for them. I've already reached the bottom and hoisted myself onto Feraligatr. "See you all later!" I shout in mockery as Feraligatr swims away.

Now, to deal with the issue of where to go. As far as I know, there are about ten regions, eight of which I can get to from here, not that I'd want to be back in Unova anyway. I can't go to Oblivia, Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn due to my reputation. The only other regions are Orre, Almia, and Fiore. Orre is probably too far from here. Almia and Fiore are viable options, but the other rangers from there might already be trying to get me. That leaves nowhere that I can go.

So what do I do without a place to go?

I go to Sinnoh, because love really does make you crazy.


	12. The End of the Beginning

To say the least, getting back into Sinnoh is going to be eventful, I can already tell. About three seconds after Feraligatr and I get back to land on Route 218, I see a wanted sign and three trainers all looking around for something. That something couldn't possibly be me, of course.

Not.

I hide behind a tree, then have a realization. What am I going to do about Feraligatr? Bright blue and red is going to stand out a lot in a forest of people wearing dull colored clothing. So I motion it back into the water, and it seems to understand, as it goes silently back into the ocean and starts swimming east towards Jubilife City. I crawl underneath the brush, alert of any and all twigs on the ground as well as my breathing.

As I continue, I realize something right before it stops me in my tracks. What am I going to do about that big gap of water between me and the route gate to Jubilife? And what am I going to do about that route gate, anyway? And Jubilife?

I take a deep breath. There's only one way to go in this situation, at least that I can think of at the moment. Reaching the edge of the trees right next to the water, I carefully stand up in the thicket. I'm only an arms length from a trainer in my position, so I need to be careful. So I get in position, breathe again, and sprint as fast as I can through the route. I catch every trainer's eye, but I keep sprinting, even as I think I'm recognized.

"Hey, is that Kari?"

"I think it is! She looks like the wanted sign!"

"After her!" The pace at which I run is unreal for what little stamina I have. I run through the gate, and then enter Jubilife City, which is where the rest of my life will probably be determined. For some reason, these people really hate me more than I think I deserve.

What did I do wrong? I teamed up with a bomber- okay, _that_ was pretty bad, - I tried to catch Kyurem, and I've abandoned Colress and Leaf after I attempted to do that. Maybe there's more to Wes than I originally thought, but even if I figure out what teaming up with him really means, or what his intentions are, the damage has unfortunately been done.

I begin to lose my running power. This whole running thing really sucks, there's a reason I tried to have a peaceful lifestyle!

As I slow down, more people shout. I try to get to the southern end, but a citizen has already restrained me. I try punching, kicking, screaming… but none of it works. multiple people are surrounding me. Among the faces, I recognize Dawn and Lucas. But all sorts of people are surrounding from where I can see. It's like I'm a museum exhibit of some world famous painting.

I feel like my limbs are going to go out of their sockets if people keep pulling. The pain is pretty bad, but probably nothing compared to what other people have experienced- after all, I'm quite a weakling.

The crows parts, and police gather around, one restraining me on each side so I can stand up rather than being pulled apart. I grunt a bit as they shout. I ignore them, trying my hardest to block the shouting out of my head. My head throbs as I try to find something to focus on besides the pain. I try to make out what the people are saying.

"Restrain her!"

"Chief, is this the bomber's assistant?"

"At the moment, we're operating under the assumption that she's his slave and that he is manipulating her by putting wrongful information into her head."

At that, I become angry. How dare they say that about me, I'm not someone who can be easily manipulated! Well, kinda. But who cares? I use that anger as my source of energy and kick one of the officers in the knee. With my free hand, I punch the other in the face. I'm Wes's _equal-_ there's no way I could be used, I would know.

At least, I think. I'm still a bit unsure if it's my confidence that's going up or my strength. Either way, I cause a commotion that makes people start to run away from me. "Yeah! Get away, or you're next! Anyone who opposes me will fall!" That sounded pretty cool, if you ask me. But sounding cool isn't my goal- the point here is to get to Wes or to die trying. Do or die, they say.

I strut confidently through the crowd, pushing and shoving people as they slowly back off, forming a kind of path. I think I know which building they would keep Wes in. I've heard about this on Sinnoh News- they take prisoners to the building directly south of the Trainer School and try to teach them to be 'civil' and 'peaceful' before releasing them under surveillance for several weeks.

However, there has never been a broadcast on escaped prisoners, Wes told me. Why?

Because too many escape! Sinnoh's jail isn't very secure at all. The lock is cheap and can be broken easily with a Pokemon attack. As soon as I get to the building, I open the doors and crack my knuckles, giving the employee a dark look. He holds his hands up after tossing me the key to what I assume is everything. "Good boy," I say as I catch it and look around. "Mind telling me where the prison is?"

"R-room 1E, madam."

"Great, thanks." I use the key on the lock to the door identical to the others in the hallway, and voila, a staircase is in front of me. I descend down the staircase, then I turn on a light switch, which doesn't turn on the light, but rather gives me access to a lock for a box that clearly holds the keys to the jail cells, as each one is labelled '1', '2', '3', and after every other prison cell. I try to smash it with my fist as hard as I can, but cry out when I get a bloody fist.

"Kari? Is that you?" I barely hear the voice, but it makes me freeze. Even in this dark room, I can imagine his face staring at me perfectly. Wes would be sitting in a cell or something- "Kari, answer me. You know where the light switch is? To your left. Reach over and scan your fingerprint. It only fails to work on prisoners." As he says, I activate the light.

In front of me is what appears to be a long hallway that extends to my left and right in a T shape. The cell directly in front of me has Wes, who looks bad to say the least. His wrists are bleeding, and they're bound in chains, along with his legs on much longer ones. "Wes! Are you alright? I mean, could I get you out and get you to walk?"

"Just get me out of this cell," he replies somewhat coldly. I reach for the box of keys which was apparently opened by the fingerprint scanner, but stop.

"Wes? Are you really feeling alright?" I say this only to test the waters, because I feel like something is up.

"Kari!" He snaps. "Let me out of here right now… or else I'll..." He coughs, yet the expression on his face is cold.

"Hey, relax. I get that your time here must've gotten to you, but don't assume I won't let you out. There's no one else around here to save my butt when I'm in danger." I put the key in the lock and twist. Nothing happens. I try again multiple times with every side of the key at every angle, but the lock won't come undone. "What the hell?!" I shout.

"Sorry sweetie, but we're going. You and the boy need to be separate in order for the regions to have any hope of maintaining peace."

I turn to look at where the voice came from. The man who had given me the key was now smiling as a barred gate was closed between where I was and where the guard was, leaving Wes and I in the dark of the room. It takes me a second to process what is happening. "Hey, wait a minute! What did I do wrong? Nothing! I helped this guy who was threatening me! Only because I value my own life!"

The closing of the gate paused. The man turns and thinks for a moment, biting his thumb nail. Then, he turns back to me. "If you want to get out of here, and if we can determine your threat level and loyalty to the Sinnoh region…" He watches my expression carefully. "Maybe we can figure out something. But not the bomber, he's a clear threat to the region. Now, follow me or stay with him! Hurry up and choose!"

Obviously, I run out of the place. I feel extremely guilty leaving Wes behind, but it's not like I had another choice. Maybe I can atone for it someday. Maybe he'll get out of here sometime and we'll team up again and- "Hey Kari, can I trust you with a secret?"

This guy really is an idiot. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Well, we actually didn't have another choice. You know, with locking him up in there… and since he's the only one in there, and that building is mostly unused anyway…"

"What?"

"I'm afraid we're going to have to… let the boy remain in there."

"For how long?"

"Er…" He fidgets, looking away and swallows. "Well… until the smell in there becomes unbearable, we can't allow anyone to see him for anything…"

I freeze. He can't possibly mean… "Are you implying that you're going to let him die?" I ask in a hushed whisper.

"...I'm afraid so," he replies after a long silence. "Only because of the threat he presents. It's not like we have a choice. The higher ups just decided that it would be best for everyone. I'm sorry, Kari, but I think that if anyone, you deserve to know as long as you promise to keep it a secret from anyone else. Can you promise me that?"

I scoff bitterly. "Who would I tell, my partner in crime? Oh yeah, he's going to be gone forever within a few days. Yeah, your secret's safe with me, sir."

"I'm glad. The boss would be angry with me if he figured out that I told you of all people, or even released you for that matter."

I think for a moment. "Who's this boss you speak of?"

"That's classified information. I'm sorry."

I guess I can have mercy on him for releasing me, so I don't beat him or try to get an answer or anything. "Thank you sir. I will be taking my leave."

"Wait! But-" I smirk as I start to run towards the ocean. I might have nowhere to go and nothing to do, but I'm not out of hope for as long as Wes lives. And those are the words that keep me going for a while.

He's not dead yet.

Within about two days of my escape, I've established a base on Route 203, nice and close to the city where Wes is. I have his Feraligatr and my Leafeon, Mantine, and Rapidash. I only have out my Leafeon frequently since Wes had put Feraligatr's pokeball in its mouth, and it trusted me enough to be in my possession for now.

The best part is that by now, I have a plan for breaking out Wes from his cell. It's risky, and if it doesn't work, it'll mean my ultimate defeat forever, along with Wes's.

The plan goes like this: I've been training Rapidash, Mantine, and Leafeon vigorously in different locations since I've been able to go different places via Feraligatr's back. I trust that Feraligatr itself is strong enough to pull this off, and while it's borderline immoral, my plan will release Wes from the "higher-ups'" immoral acts.

I'm going to burn that building with Rapidash while Mantine Feraligatr cause chaos on the other side of the city by flooding it. Leafeon will use Flash to make the area around Jubilife city too bright to see. It took a while and a lot of rushed training, but I think my plan will go well.

I proceed to walk into Jubilife city. I release all of my Pokemon before anyone notices, and they all look at me. With a deep breath, I signal to all of them.

And the plan begins.


	13. The Plan in Motion

**Guys… I'm sorry. I done messed up D: I accidentally changed Kei's name to Kari in the previous chapters. I got this story confused with another one I've been writing. Please forgive me!**

While the Pokemon all set the plan in motion, I stay with Leafeon, who is using Flash to blind the people, as if the smoke from the fire wasn't doing that anyway. Feraligatr and Mantine seem to be in good condition still, and Rapidash's flames are doing their job. The only problem is making sure Wes doesn't burn to death…

"Feraligatr! Over here!" I call, running to the building. Mantine stays using its continuous Water Guns, Surfs, and Waterfalls while Feraligatr follows me. It puts out the fire, but the hissing of its dying down hardly compares to the people's screams. It's completely immoral to make people fear like that, but hey, they made me fear for my partner's life. It's just sweet revenge.

But _heck_, words don't do justice for the rush I get as this plan is executed. I guess I'm not as conditioned to a rogue lifestyle as I originally thought.

I laugh quietly to myself. The me before I met Wes would've fainted by now. Sometimes I miss that peaceful life, but I'd rather live crazy like this with the rest of my life hanging in the balance at every moment than with every single day blending into the next.

As I get to the prison cell, I run down the stone stairs. "Rapidash! That's enough! Come here!" I look left and right through the smoke to find Wes. As it clears in that particular area, I see a hanging figure bound by chains attached to a wall… "Wes! Rapidash, burn the chains!" It does as it was told, and I barely catch his body before it hits the floor. I feel his neck and barely feel the pulse there. _Thank Arceus, he's alive,_ I think. However, I have to think quickly. How am I going to get him out of here…?

Thankfully, I have a solution. "Everyone, get back here! Mantine, take Wes on your back!" I toss his limp body onto Mantine, and when I'm sure everyone is nearby, I smirk and motion for them to follow before the Flash's light and smoke clear.

I smile and let out a victorious scream as I sprint towards the base I made on Route 203.

Mission success.

When we arrive at the camp, I set Wes down on a patch of dry, dead grass. There are a lot of those, but at least I managed to build a small fort with the help of the Pokemon. I thank them all and return them to their Pokeballs. I touch Wes's arm. "Please wake up," I mutter.

Then it occurs to me that he hasn't eaten in days. I go to the trees and pick out some apples and berries, then return to where Wes is. I can still feel his pulse, but it's weak. "Wes…" I put the berry by his nose in a desperate attempt to wake him up. If I try to stimulate his senses, I bet he'll awaken.

So while I keep the berry by his nose, I gently shake him while talking next to his ear. "Wake up. Wake up, Wes, please." Eventually, his steady breathing turns a bit unsteady. He opens his eyes slowly.

"Where is this… Why is it so bright, and-" He coughs, and I hold him upright.

"It's okay, Wes, I'm here… you need to eat. Here, I brought some apples and berries."

He stares at the food for a bit, then grabs an apple and takes a bite. His dull eyes turn bright again, and he continues to eat. I smile; I saved someone's life. In exchange for the fear I caused, I saved someone.

Who probably killed people.

Nevertheless, I'm glad that he's still with us. I let the Pokemon out of their Pokeballs to show them the news. "Wes! I'm so glad you're alive!" Feraligatr cries out happily, and I smile. Wes looks to me, not expressing emotion. I hold back a giggle as he has multiple types of berry juices dripping down his chin. We stay looking at each other for a few minutes. "Is there, uh, something you want to tell me or something?" Like "thank you _so_ much for saving me I'm eternally grateful and in your debt what can I do for you"?

"No. You just look… different."

"How so?" I ask, biting my lip at his ungraciousness.

"I mean, your eyes have a different look in them, and you look almost heartless." He looks down at the ground. "Just like me."

I blink, confused. "That was awfully sentimental of you, Wes. Did they screw with your brain in prison?"

"Nope."

"Perform surgery while you were asleep?"

He scoffs. "Who do you think I am? I didn't give in. I didn't sleep until I fainted. You barely saved my life." He wiped his chin with his sleeve. "Oh yeah, I should probably thank you for that."

That sounded insincere. Just like Wes- inconsistent and rude but smart. I smile again, this time in relief. He's no different, he's just acting like an insomniac. "You should probably get some sleep. No one has found me here, and I usually have Leafeon sit guard since it can blend in. Get some rest. You can have the blanket I made of Mareep wool I gathered. Sorry there isn't a pillow, there were only two Mareep, and that hardly made a blanket."

He stares at the blanket I handed to him in awe. "You actually care about me."

Is this guy _slow?_ "I dunno, I've made the choice to stay with you many times, betrayed the ETPA for you to go rogue, saved your life, fed you when you were about to die, and now I'm giving you my only source of warmth for the cold night… Maybe I care about you just a little, huh?" I rambled sarcastically.

He stared for a moment and let out a laugh. Then more laughter before I shut my hand over his mouth and used the other one to put a finger to my lips. "Wow, Kari, I never thought I'd see that side of you. Very well then, thanks for everything so far. In exchange…" He thinks for a moment.

"I really don't need anything in return-"

"I'll help you catch three legendary Pokemon, all yours to keep. We can start tomorrow, if you please."

I pause in shock, then an expression of glee crosses my face. "You'd do that?" I asked with tears starting to spring in my eyes.

"If you think you're ready."

I whisper-yell, "yes! Absolutely!"

He smirks and lays down under the blanket, cuddling into it slightly. He falls asleep immediately, and when I lay on the ground, I watch his peaceful expression before drifting into sleep.


End file.
